A JV with Australia’s CSIRO and Japan’s Mitsubishi (MHI) could be more than just beneficial for dry, arid areas in Australia if its attempt at a water-free solar plant prove successful.
The companies are working on developing a solar thermal power plant that uses compressed hot air instead of steam to drive a turbine and generate power. The main advantage would be using this application in areas that receive little rainfall. CSIRO feels that the plant, which could generate up to 10 MW of power, could be deployed in areas like Western Australia.
However, Africa could benefit from this technology particularly in its Maghreb region where rainfall is scarce.
CSIRO struck a deal with MHI to provide research assistance and facilities to the company in return for a share of royalties and licensing fees when the technology was commercialized. The plant works by heating air in a vessel to about 1,000 degrees Celsius and allowing it to expand through a turbine. The operating temperature is about 600 degrees Celsius higher than current "trough"-style steam solar plants.
CSIRO is building a test field of 450 reflectors at its Newcastle and it will be tested with one of MHI’s turbines connected to the 30m-tall tower. By 2013, the two organizations hope to have a demonstration plant of between 1 MW and 2.5 MW constructed. By 2014 the JV hopes to have a full-scale 10 MW plant operating and to begin commercialization.
CSIRO declined to reveal details of its contract with MHI, but Japanese industry magazines have reported the initial development cost to be about $26 million, of which CSIRO will contribute one-third. CSIRO received $5 million from the federal government’s Australian Solar Institute to build the test field and conduct research over two years.
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